Path of a Padawan
by Your Teammate
Summary: The Clone Wars rage on, bringing chaos across the galaxy. As a new Padawan, Luat doesn't know what impact he can have. But with the help of his friends and the guidance of his Master, he will do everything he can to make sure that the war comes to an end. AU inspired by the Decide Your Destiny books.
1. Prologue: Younglings

**Prologue: Younglings**

**Jedi Temple, Coruscant, 23 BBY**

Plo Koon strode through the Jedi Temple, nodding respectfully to those he passed. The Kel Dor moved purposefully as he approached the Academy Wing of the temple, somewhere that he had visited several times over the years.

Master Coleman Kcaj greeted him at the entrance with a short bow and a smile. "Master Plo Koon, good to see you intact. Here to observe the Clawmouse Clan?"

"You know me too well, Master Kcaj," Plo replied. Ever since he had delivered young Ahsoka Tano to the Temple, he had made a point of checking in on her every once in a while to see how she was faring. On occasion that involved speaking to her personally, but most of the time it involved watching some of her lessons from a distance. It would not do for the rest of the creche to believe that she was getting any special treatment.

"They're in the middle of saber practice right now," Master Kcaj said, turning to lead the way to one of the training arenas. Plo followed, tracing the corridors that he himself had run through so many times as a youngling decades ago.

As they approached the training hall, he could begin to make out the sounds of lightsabers clashing along with several excited voices. If he remembered correctly, the annual Apprentice Tournament was going to begin soon, and Ahsoka's clan had just reached the age at which they were allowed to compete. Their saber practice periods would be taken up with live spars as the younglings gained valuable experience in order to impress the tournament's spectators and hopefully avoid relegation to the Service Corps.

His expectations were proved correct when he and Coleman entered the hall. Twelve younglings were squaring off with each other in pairs, sabers flashing back and forth with varying degrees of skill. Off to the side, he could make out the distinctive form of Battlemaster Cin Drallig watching all of the duels with a practiced eye alongside several Temple Guards.

Ahsoka, as the only Togruta in her clan, was very easy to spot. She was currently dueling one of the two Nautolan younglings, and very well from what he could see. He could easily identify the competent, if slightly sloppy, Form V bladework that the Togruta was using, and it was clearly serving her well as her power-based strikes forced her opponent into disadvantageous positions. As he watched, the young Nautolan's desperate return strike was batted aside easily, and Ahsoka struck with a quick slash across his torso.

"Match!" the observing guardsman called out. "Initiate Tano is the victor."

Plo watched approvingly as Ahsoka helped her opponent to his feet, sharing a few words with him before they moved over to the sidelines to watch the rest of the matches. It was comforting to see that the little Togruta he had saved so many years ago was making such powerful strides down the path of the Jedi.

"So, Master Plo, what do you think?" Master Kcaj asked, a proud smile on his upside-down face as he watched his younglings' success. The Ongree was the Master that oversaw a majority of the Clawmouse clan's teachings, and as Plo was on the Jedi High Council he greatly valued his advice and opinions.

"Initiate Tano has grown well," the Kel Dor answered. "All of the younglings have. I am certain that they will all make fine Padawans in the years to come. Their future Masters will be truly fortunate to have them."

The Ongree Master gave him an amused look. "'Future Masters,' hm? I thought you were planning to take on young Ahsoka yourself, Master Plo."

"I merely wish to ensure that Initiate Tano is performing well, Master Kcaj," Plo replied gravely, though he couldn't hide the amusement from his own voice. His assumption was a logical one, especially since he had observed her particular clan multiple times over the years. "I do not believe that she would obtain her full potential under my tutelage. Her destiny lies with another."

As he said this, his gaze wandered over to where another pair of initiates, a human and a Zabrak, were trading blows. The Zabrak, a young, tan-skinned male with a trio of stubby horns along his brow, was displaying a very strong Form III defense, but it was the human, a lighter-skinned boy sporting a mop of shoulder-length jet-black hair, that caught Plo's attention. Like Ahsoka, he was using Form V's power-based strikes to try and batter down his opponent's defenses, but that was where the similarities ended. Instead, the initiate was spinning and shuffling all around his sparring partner, using acrobatic movements in an attempt to mask his strikes. As Plo watched, the young human dove under the Zabrak's saber, turning the fall into a spinning leg sweep followed by a swing from his own blade. His opponent was barely able to block the both of them before dodging a third attack. The Kel Dor was reminded of the leaps and kicks that were taught in Form IV, but he could barely detect any Force usage from the human, far from the amount that even the least experienced Ataru user tended to use for their movements. No, this was pure athleticism that was fueling the boy's actions, nothing more.

"That human over there," Plo said, gaining Master Kcaj's attention, "What's his name?"

The Ongree's eyestalks followed his gaze, and smiled as he spotted the initiate in question. "That one is Luat Ceema, from Alderaan, and the one he's dueling is Jaylen Kos. Why do you ask?"

"He is different," the Kel Dor replied. "I can barely sense the Force from him, yet he moves with such assuredness."

Coleman remained silent for a moment as the duel between Luat and Jaylen continued, with the Zabrak successfully countering several of the human's attacks and scoring a blow across his shoulder. "When Initiate Ceema was tested for Force potential," he finally said, "It was discovered that his midi-chlorian count was only 7,100."

Plo's eyes widened beneath his mask. "7,100? That is barely enough to even be considered for training."

"And it shows," Kcaj continued. "He has had a lot of trouble connecting with the Force, and even now isn't able to use it to the degree as the rest of his peers. Even though he has an affinity towards sensing the future, the most that he gets even at the best of times is a jumble of words that no one can make sense of."

"Yet he has not given up," Plo commented, impressed. Far too many younglings had simply given up on the Order after encountering similar issues. Failure was a bitter pill to swallow, especially at such a young age, and to watch your peers surpass you every day would be even worse. For young Luat to have passed his Initiate Trials with such a disadvantage spoke volumes of his dedication and persistence.

"More than that, he's compensated admirably," his fellow Master said, gesturing that they turn their focus back to the duel. And they did so just in time to see Luat recklessly leap towards Jaylen, who smirked and readied himself to bat the human out of the air. Luat's next move, though, was what caught Plo by surprise. With a push of his hand, the human fired off a Force Push which completely negated his forward movement. The push itself impacted Jaylen's feet, knocking them out from under him and sending him flailing to the ground. Luat landed easily, batting aside Jaylen's lightsaber in a flash of green and lunging forward to place his saber at the Zabrak's throat.

"Match!" Master Drallig called out. "Initiate Ceema is the winner. Well fought to the both of you."

As Luat pulled Jaylen to his feet, Kcaj turned to his fellow Master. "You saw it, didn't you?" he asked. "Even his Force Pushes are weak compared to most, but he's learned to apply them intelligently and creatively in exchange."

"Indeed," Plo replied, absently leaning on the railing as he watched the duo walk over to Ahsoka, who greeted them enthusiastically. "His saber form is unique. Another compensation for his disadvantages, correct?"

"Yes, they're an adaptation of the standard Ataru forms," the clan leader replied. "The creativity and intelligence of Alderaanians have not passed young Luat by in his time here."

"So they have not," Plo said, before checking his chrono. "I am afraid that I must be on my way, Master Kcaj. The High Council will be meeting soon, and it would not do to be late."

"Duty calls, as it always does," the Ongree agreed, giving the Kel Dor a light bow. "A pleasure as always, Master Koon. May the Force be with you."

"And with you," Plo replied as he walked off towards the Council chambers.

**-o-**

Several hours later, Plo exited the High Council chambers feeling exhausted. The new Separatist movement was spreading unrest throughout the galaxy, and tensions were inexorably reaching a boiling point. The Jedi Order was rapidly being stretched thin trying to mitigate some of the riots and other conflicts that were springing up thanks to former Master Dooku's rhetoric, with those Knights and Masters specializing in diplomacy and negotiation being in especially high demand. Several members of the Council were out on missions and had to report in through Holo, and he himself was tasked with dealing with a strike turned bloody on Kuat.

As he made his way towards his quarters, a twinge from the Force stopped him just in time to avoid being bowled over by a young Jaylen Kos running past him at full speed. To his credit, the Zabrak was quick to turn and apologize, only to be stunned upon realizing who it was he had almost run into. "M-Master Koon! My apologies, Master!"

Plo's response was interrupted by the two more pairs of feet as Luat and Ahsoka rounded the corner at a run.

"Dammit Jaylen! Give me back R3's repair torch right now or I swear to—oh, uh… hi Master Koon." Luat's yelling quickly came to a stop as well. To the Kel Dor's amusement, both male Initiates paled as they stammered out apologies, while Ahsoka merely shook her head in an exasperated fondness that he himself was familiar with from dealing with the antics of his own former Padawans.

"Apology accepted, younglings," he said, cutting off Luat and Jaylen before turning to Ahsoka. "Hello, Little 'Soka."

"Hey Master Plo," the Togruta replied, casually ignoring the shock on her friends' faces. "It's good to see you. Have you been on any interesting missions lately?"

"Do not forget your etiquette lessons, young one." If he had a human-like mouth under his mask, the Kel Dor would have been sporting an amused smile. "I believe that there are introductions that need to be made first."

Ahsoka nodded hurriedly. "These are Jaylen Kos and Luat Ceema. Guys, you already know about Master Plo, right?"

"Wait," Jaylen said, "How the kriff do _you_ know Master Koon?"

The Master in question moved to interject (such language was unbecoming of a Jedi after all) when he realized that the younglings had gotten so distracted by the new information that they had managed to forget that he was standing right in front of them.

"Master Plo was the one who brought me to the Temple, Jaylen," Ahsoka replied exasperatedly. "He checks in sometimes to catch up. I told you both this years ago, why are you so surprised?"

"You never said that you and him talked!" Luat protested, before adopting a curious expression. "By the way, does that mean he knows about the time you—OW!" his head snapped backwards from a small Force Push and he glared at the now-blushing Togruta.

"You'd better not be talking about _that_ time, Luat," Ahsoka growled, "Unless you want me to tell him about a certain incident." Her scowl then turned into a grin. "Right, _Lulu_?"

Luat paled and Jaylen snickered, all three of them still forgetting about Plo's presence. "You wouldn't."

Ahsoka's smirk widened, and Luat groaned in dismay. "Force me, you would."

"As amusing as I'm sure these stories are," Plo began, watching as all three younglings jumped and blushed upon remembering he was still standing in front of them, "I am afraid they will have to wait for another time. I have been assigned a mission by the Council, so I must be going."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Initiates Luat and Jaylen. May the Force be with you." Plo inclined his head to them, waiting until they offered bows and replies of their own before turning and walking off to where his fighter was docked.

Even as he left he could hear Luat saying "And where are you going Jaylen? Don't think I forgot about that repair torch! Hey, get back here!"

"Luat Ceema and Jaylen Kos…" the Jedi Master mused to himself. "What an interesting pair of friends you have found for yourself, Little 'Soka."

* * *

**And so begins a labor of both love and nostalgia. This story was inspired by a Clone Wars CYOA book titled **_**Decide Your Destiny: The Way of the Jedi**_**, which I read as a kid, as well as the **_**Star Wars: The Clone Wars**_ **TV series. Both of them had a very strong influence on me as I grew up, and I figured that for an amateur writer like myself there isn't a much better way to honor them than with a fic like this one. Please note that I will be drawing on a lot of the Legends continuity for this story, so if that's not something you like then, well, I can't really help you there.**

**Feel free to leave a review if you've got any constructive feedback. I'm still new to this whole fic-writing thing, so I'm always looking for improvements. Until then, though, see you all in the next chapter and, as always, watch out for that friendly fire.**

**-Your Teammate**


	2. Chapter 1: Assignment

**Chapter 1: Assignment**

**Jedi Temple, Coruscant, 22 BBY**

"Have you heard? Ahsoka's been made a Padawan!"

That was the news that had spread through the Jedi Initiate Clans like wildfire. While this news was very abrupt, it wasn't completely surprising. Even though she was only fourteen, Ahsoka Tano had established herself as one of the foremost lightsaber combatants among the younglings, and had put up a formidable showing at the most recent Initiate Tournament alongside several others of her clan. She also had a reputation as a bit of a mischief-maker, and if it weren't for the war more than one Master would have breathed a sigh of relief that she would be spending most of her time outside of the temple. Among the Initiates, reactions were varied. The younger ones cared little, as they weren't as familiar with Ahsoka herself and the news was filtered out in favor of focusing on their studies. The older ones felt varying amounts of jealousy, as they were the ones who risked assignment to the Service Corps unless they were assigned a Master. For two Initiates in particular, the reactions were significantly more noteworthy…

"You're kidding me!" Jaylen exclaimed, ignoring the shushing motions from his best friend. "First Ahsoka becomes a Padawan before us, then when she has to up and leave _you're_ the only one she tells? And not only that, but she's gonna be the apprentice of Anakin-fragging-Skywalker himself! How is that fair?"

"Jaylen, quiet down! We're in the library for Force's sake!" Luat hissed, looking around nervously for any monitor droids. "I only know because I ran into her in the halls, I told you!"

The Alderaanian sighed to himself as Jaylen subsided, muttering under his breath. His friend hadn't changed much even with the advent of the Clone Wars. "Besides, you know that the High Council has started assigning Padawans now, instead of leaving it up to each individual Knight and Master. Just because Ahsoka got assigned to Skywalker doesn't mean–"

"Ha! I knew it!" Jaylen interrupted triumphantly. "I thought it was the case, but that confirms it! You _do_ have a crush on her!"

"Wha-I-_me_? With _Ahsoka_?" Luat spluttered. "What the kriff are you smoking Jaylen?"

Whatever it was that the Zabrak was going to say in response Luat would never know, because at that moment one of the librarian droids, JL-52, decided to intervene.

"Initiate Kos, Initiate Ceema," the droid droned, "Please lower your voices. Rambunctious discussion and vulgar language are prohibited in the Temple Archives. In addition, any mentions of substance abuse are to be reported to Master–"

"Wait wait calm down JL." Luat waved his hands frantically. "I'm just joking around, there's no need to tell anyone about this!"

By some miracle, the desperation in Luat's voice went unnoticed by the library drone. "Very well," it said. "However, the both of you have been requested to report to the Jedi High Council. It is highly recommended that you do so shortly."

Message delivered, JL-52 proceeded to walk off towards a nearby access terminal, leaving Luat to give Jaylen a look that mixed both relief and confusion. What could the High Council want with them?

**-o-**

"Initiate Ceema, Initiate Kos." The two Initiates tried not to fidget in front of some of the most powerful Jedi Masters in the Order. Even with several of the seats empty, with many of the Council members off on campaigns or other missions due to the war, there were still enough eyes on them to make both of them nervous.

"Uh… Yes Masters?" Jaylen eventually asked.

"Calm, Younglings," the venerable Grandmaster Yoda chuckled from his small chair. "In trouble, you are not. Quite the opposite, in fact." What?

Master Windu spoke up next from his own seat. "The two of you have been observed to possess the qualities necessary for being promoted to Padawan."

"Jaylen Kos," the serpentine Master Oppo Rancisis continued as Luat gaped in shock, "You will be assigned to Master Bant Eerin. Luat Ceema, you will be assigned to Master Plo Koon at his request."

If Luat was shocked before, then this news was ground-shattering. Plo Koon wanted to be _his_ Master? Him, who could barely even hear his own Force visions? There had to be some mistake, right? He noticed that Master Windu had started speaking again, and wrenched himself back to the present.

"And you will travel to Kashyyyk immediately to meet up with Master Eerin," the Korun Jedi Master was saying. "Padawan Ceema, you will accompany him for this assignment, as Master Koon is currently negotiating a ceasefire on Utapau and any additional forces would only reignite hostilities. Are there any questions?"

"No, Masters," Jaylen said, looking to Luat to see if he had any. Overwhelmed and still trying to process the new information, he could only shake his head in the negative lest he blurt out something stupid in front of the Council.

"Then dismissed. May the Force be with you, Padawans."

**-o-**

"I don't believe it."

"Come on Luat, I told you! You deserve this!"

Luat grunted in response, focusing on familiarizing himself with the cockpit of his new Delta-6. "Master Plo Koon is one of the Council Jaylen. There's no way he wants a Padawan like me. I barely passed those kriffing flight sims, and he's one of the best pilots in the Order!"

Sometimes, the Alderaanian hated how difficult it was for him to connect with the Force. Jedi pilots, as Master Kcaj had explained several times over, were supposed to be able to connect with the Force and fly almost on instinct thanks to its guidance. He, of course, couldn't do that, at least not in any feasible manner. That left him reliant on instruments and his own instincts, and those just weren't enough to make him anything more than the worst pilot in the Clawmouse clan.

"If I did go with him," he sighed, giving voice to the doubts in his mind, "I'd only slow him down."

He went back to finish up checking his cockpit only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jaylen giving him an uncharacteristically serious look.

"Luat," he said solemnly, "Listen to me. Plo Koon personally requested for you to be his Padawan. Master Rancisis himself said so, with Master Windu and Grandmaster Yoda himself right beside him, and neither of them said anything. If the wisest and most powerful members of the Order say that you'll be fine as Master Koon's apprentice, then I think the statement must have at least some truth to it, right?"

Luat hesitated, looking down at his hands for a second. "Well, I… Yes, but–"

"But nothing!" Jaylen exclaimed. "Luat, you're one of the best lightsaber users I know, and the most creative user of telekinesis and Force Push that I've seen, bar none! You've taken your struggles with the Force and turned them on their heads, so you absolutely deserve it!"

Luat could only gape at his friend for a few moments, before coming back to his senses with a shake of his head. Sometimes, he really didn't know what he did to deserve a friend like Jaylen Kos. "Well," he grinned shakily, "When you put it like that, I guess there's only one response I can make isn't there?"

A sharp beeping rang out from nearby, preventing Jaylen from answering as a brown-and-green patterned astromech rolled through a nearby doorway. The droid's optical sensor flared as it let out a furious series of beeps and whistles towards the two Padawans.

"Hey, calm down R3!" Luat said, raising his hands in surrender. "Do you honestly think I'd be flying off on a mission to anywhere without my favorite astromech?"

R3-G0, the astromech in question, gave off an indignant whistle.

"Well, I mean, yes, you're also my only astromech, but that doesn't mean anything! Jaylen, back me up here!" Luat glanced over to see his friend valiantly trying to suppress his laughter. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled. "R3, just get in the blasted starfighter so that we can get going, please?"

Thankfully, the droid acquiesced, slotting itself into the astromech port as Luat powered on the fighter. "Jaylen, ready to go?"

"Hell yeah!" his first friend exclaimed. "Let's go! I can't wait to get out there and make my mark!"

And with that, the Zabrak's orange Delta-7 lifted off of the ground and made its way out of the hangar. Luat followed in his own green starfighter, sublight engines flaring as he and Jaylen sped their way through the Coruscant skyline.

**-o-**

Hyperspace travel in a Delta-6 was a novel experience, Luat mused. He'd been to Ilum to get his lightsaber crystal, of course, but for that trip his clan had been inside of a freighter-type ship and there was a lot more legroom than in the cockpit of a starfighter. Thankfully, the trip didn't take long, and his comm beeped as soon as his ship detached from the hyperspace ring. "Luat, I'm assuming you got through intact?" Even through the commlink, Jaylen's snark was as clear as ever.

"I'm not _that_ incompetent of a pilot, you mook," Luat huffed. "And even if I was, R3 was the one who took care of the calculations." The astromech in question beeped an affirmative from where he was nestled.

"Well," Jaylen replied, "We'll have plenty of time to see just how bad your flying really is, because that was the last jump. It's all sublight the rest of the way. Just try not to crash or something, 'kay? This cockpit's cramped enough already without another passenger." By the Force, he could hear the insolent smirk on Jaylen's face after that one.

Any retort that Luat could have given was cut short when his holo went off, signaling another caller. Answering it resulted in the hologram of a female Mon Calamari in Jedi robes appearing over the transmitter.

"Ah, you two would be the new Padawans, correct?" she said. "I am Jedi Master Bant Eerin."

"I'm Jaylen Kos, and I'm the one the Council assigned to you," Luat could hear Jaylen say through the comm.

"I'm Luat Ceema, Plo Koon's Padawan," he said. "The Council sent me here with Jaylen because my new Master is dealing with some sort of delicate diplomatic situation."

"Yes, the Council filled me in on who they were sending," Master Eerin said. "Sorry about the abruptness, but we don't have the time for further pleasantries."

"Master?" Jaylen asked. He hid it well, but Luat could make out the worry in his voice. "I thought we were going to be meeting on Kashyyyk. Did something happen?"

"The situation has changed," was her curt reply. "I will be following a lead on Akoshissss, the moon orbiting Trandosha. You will have to continue to Kashyyyk without me."

"I'm sorry?" Luat said nervously. He and Jaylen hadn't even landed on the planet and already something was going on, and he didn't like it. "What happened Master? What's going on?"

The holo grimaced. "I can't tell you over comms," she warned. "These ones are not secure enough to be sending this kind of information through. You'll be filled in on Kashyyyk, and hopefully when everything's done I can–" Her head whipped to the side and her voice cut off as she glanced at something to the side.

"Blast it! Going to have to cut this short!" she said hurriedly as her image began to distort. "Get to Kashyyyk Padawans!" Her voice was almost incomprehensible over several bursts of static. "I'll be fine jus–" was all that Luat could make out before the transmission cut out entirely.

"Master!" Jaylen yelled over the comm as he tried to reestablish the connection. "Master Eerin, come in!"

Luat grit his teeth as his own efforts came up unsuccessful. "Dammit, it's no use Jaylen. The line's dead."

There was silence across the comm for a minute, until Jaylen finally asked the question they were both thinking. "Well, what now?"

Luat wasn't really sure what to do himself. Master Eerin had said she'd be fine, and she was undoubtedly much more knowledgeable and experienced than both of them combined. "We're going to Kashyyyk, like Master Eerin told us to," he decided. Bant Eerin was a Jedi Master, and had been part of the war ever since day one, he told himself. She could handle whatever it was that had interrupted them.

"What!?" Clearly, though, Jaylen disagreed. "We're just gonna leave Master Eerin like that? What if she needs our help?"

"She's a Jedi Master, Jaylen, with an entire battalion of clones nearby," Luat snapped. "If she's in trouble I don't think a pair of newly minted Padawans are going to do much to help there."

"Of course we could help! Just because you're not a good pilot doesn't mean–" The rest of Jaylen's words were suddenly muffled, as if they were spoken underwater. Luat's confusion was quickly stifled by a gasp as a pillar of ice drove itself through his brain, and all he could hear were garbled phrases spoken by unrecognizable voices.

"_Another successful delivery, Mister Dane."_

"_This better be the last one, Panith. I hate terentateks."_

"_My Lord Dooku, you presume too swiftly! When my cyborg soldiers are complete, the Jedi will crumble before us."_

"_I am thankful that a live Jedi is among us! You will be the perfect final test for my creation!"_

The last line faded out and Luat found himself wrenched back into reality, just in time to hear Jaylen finish speaking. "–So you can go to Kashyyyk if you want Luat, but I'm not gonna risk losing my Master right after getting her!"

"You're right," Luat said, wincing as he massaged his temples. R3 beeped at him worriedly, but he waved the droid off with a free hand.

"Yeah, I'm righ–wait, what?" Jaylen cut off as he realized what Luat had said. "Luat, what's going on? I mean, I'm not complaining, but you were completely against going to Akoshissss literally a minute ago."

"I had one of my visions," Luat said, and the sharp intake of breath across the comm indicated that Jaylen understood what that meant. Luat's future visions were unique in that they technically weren't visions, since they did not give any images. Instead, they provided snippets of conversation from various people and times in the future. Master Yoda had described them as Force Echoes, and said that they weren't visions only because of Luat's poor connection to the Force.

Luat had felt these Echoes at several points in the past. The future was always in motion, Master Yoda would say, but every time the events that they described had come to pass. And now they were telling him that an insane scientist had captured a Jedi as a test subject for his cyborg creation, one he was confident could destroy the Order as a whole.

With Master Eerin's unknown situation, there was no real choice in where they were going. "I'll tell you on the way Jaylen," Luat said, "But if I'm right, then Master Eerin's in real danger. R3! Plot a course for Akoshissss!"

* * *

**And that's Chapter 1. Feel free to drop a review, or PM if you've got a really specific question you need to ask. Until then, though, I'll see you next time. And as always, watch out for that friendly fire.**

**-Your Teammate**


	3. Chapter 2: Rescue Mission?

**Chapter 2: Rescue Mission?**

Fortunately, the flight to Akoshissss didn't take overly long. Thanks to R3 tracing Master Eerin's comm signal, Luat and Jaylen were able to find the general area she had been, which was near a large asteroid field several light-years away from the moon itself. Looking through his cockpit, Luat couldn't see any signs of a ship nearby, neither Master Eerin's nor any others.

"Jaylen, do you see anything?" he asked, only for his friend to reply in negative. "R3, keep scanning," he told his astromech. "If something happened to Master Eerin, then there will be evidence. We just need to find it."

He and Jaylen proceeded in silence for a few minutes, sweeping back and forth across the asteroid field while attempting to find any traces of debris, scorch marks, engine emissions, anything. He and Jaylen had even tried reaching out with the Force to sense her presence, but neither of them had a wide enough range or enough familiarity with Master Eerin's Force signature for that to work.

Eventually, though, R3 beeped triumphantly, getting Luat's attention. "What'd you find, buddy?" he asked, studying the readouts that were popping up on his dashboard. They were for a ship, definitely, but… "That can't be right," he muttered absently. The profile was all wrong for a Delta-7, and there was no way that Master Eerin would have been flying something else. And there were no signs of Republic forces nearby, that would have been one of the first things they would have been told.

"Luat?" Jaylen asked over comm. "My scans are picking up a fighter coming in, high speed. It's not Master Eerin's either."

"Yeah, I see it too," he replied. "Try and stay ready. Something's not right here."

That something was very quickly found out as the starfighter came into view. It was a squat, ugly, one-person Skyhopper, with two wide sweeping wings and a plow-like front, and its intentions were quickly proved when it spat a series of blaster bolts at them before veering off.

"Kriff!" Luat sent his fighter into a desperate sideways roll, barely dodging the attack, and the litany of swearing over his comm told him Jaylen was in a similar position. "Looks like we can guess what happened to Master Eerin!"

"Forget that!" Jaylen shouted over the comm. "That sithspit pilot's going down!" From beside him, Luat could see Jaylen's orange fighter dart ahead of him in hot pursuit of the Skyhopper.

"Jaylen, wait!" Luat called out over the comm, but got no response. Sighing, he steeled himself and powered up his own thrusters, flying off after Jaylen. The two of them combined should be able to take down the Skyhopper, even if Luat himself wasn't the best pilot.

Whoever it was behind the controls of that ship, Luat could almost instantly tell that they knew their stuff. The ship danced through the asteroid belt, dodging both stray pieces of rock and shots from Jaylen, who was matching their maneuvering turn for turn. In contrast, Luat was falling behind, barely able to squeeze off a few shots of his own in favor of making sure he didn't crash into anything.

Gritting his teeth, Luat wrenched his fighter to the side, narrowly dodging another asteroid, before growling, "To hell with this," and pulling out of the asteroids altogether. Fortunately, he was still able to make out the flashes of blasterfire ahead of him that marked where Jaylen was still unsuccessfully chasing the Skyhopper. As he pushed closer to them, closing the distance thanks to traveling in a straight line, R3 beeped worriedly.

"What do you mean another power source just showed up?" Luat exclaimed, before his senses screamed at him to dodge. Acting on instinct, he snap-rolled up to his left, and his astromech screamed as several red blaster bolts whizzed past him.

Another Skyhopper had joined the dogfight, darting from out of the asteroid field with guns blazing. Now, Luat was stuck, forcing himself into more and more frantic evasive maneuvers to try and get out from under the ship's guns. Luat could only grimace helplessly as the new Skyhopper started to close in on him, tracking his every move effortlessly. His comm crackled as an unfamiliar hissing laughter came through it.

"Foolish Jedi," the Skyhopper's pilot gloated. "Your feeble attempts cannot escape Tyrrassk!" The bastard was broadcasting on an open frequency so that his comm could pick it up, Luat realized, and he redoubled his efforts to avoid his pursuer, even attempting to dive back into the asteroid field for some more cover. But Tyrrassk expertly closed off his movements, using deliberately placed blaster fire to herd him out into open space to line up an easy shot.

"Damn it!" Luat swore, cursing his own weakness as a pilot. A glance to the side told him that Jaylen was still busy with his own dogfight. _I'm a sitting duck out here compared to this guy,_ he realized, and for once the cold feeling in his spine did not come from one of his visions.

"Hahahaha! Now die, Jedi!" Tyrrassk yelled out over the comm, and all Luat could do was pull one more desperate roll while wincing in preparation for the end. But when the blaster bolts came, they weren't from the Skyhopper.

Blue bolts lanced past his ship, hitting Luat's pursuer dead in the center of the cockpit and killing its pilot instantly. As his would-be killer exploded in a suitably spectacular fireball, another Delta-7 zoomed past, followed by several V-19s. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see another squad of the fighters harassing the first Skyhopper, the clone pilots forcing it back and forth until it ran headfirst into a stray asteroid and exploded.

An image of Master Eerin materialized on his holo shortly after. "You two," she said in a tone of exasperation mixed with what seemed to be fondness, "Have no idea how much trouble you're in."

**-o-**

It turned out that Master Eerin had indeed been ambushed by the pilots, Trandoshan freelance hunters from what she could guess. Except unlike him and Jaylen, she had outmaneuvered them and escaped, returning with an entire battalion of clones at her back. Thanks to how urgent her request for reinforcements was, however, a single Star Destroyer was all they could spare. It was inside of that Star Destroyer, the _Reforger_, that Luat and Jaylen were now, getting chewed out by Master Eerin.

"–And if I hadn't shown up when I did, you two would have been killed!" She finished, glaring at the two of them in disappointment. "So, what do you two have to explain for yourselves?"

Luat shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Jaylen, who was probably feeling even worse than he was considering she was his Master. His friend caught his questioning look and shrugged, indicating that it was up to Luat how much he wanted to say.

"Er… Master Eerin," he started, flinching under her stern gaze. He felt like a youngling again, being lectured by Master Drallig after a prank gone wrong. "You read our files, right? You know how I get visions sometimes?"

The Mon Calamari's glare lessened slightly. "So you got a vision of me in danger, and wanted to prevent it from coming to pass? Admirable, but–"

"Not exactly," Luat interrupted. "Master Yoda called them Force Echoes. I don't get any images out of the visions, just bits of conversation. One of them was of some guy named Bitt Panith saying he got a Jedi to experiment on, and considering you had cut off just a little bit ago, well…" he trailed off nervously when Master Eerin's gaze sharpened.

"Bitt Panith? Are you certain?" she asked seriously.

Luat couldn't do anything but nod. "That's what he was called in the vision, and I've never had them be wrong before." He explained the rest of what he had heard from the Echoes to Master Eerin, who furrowed her brow and sighed in frustration before speaking.

"In any other circumstance," she said, "I'd be sending you two to Kashyyyk anyways, with a severe reprimand for disobeying orders and almost getting yourselves killed. But if what you foresaw is correct, then that changes things."

She walked over to a nearby holotable where several clones were already standing, bringing up the image of a Muun male sporting several cybernetic implants. "This is Bitt Panith, a rogue cyberneticist suspected of working with the Separatists. I was sent here to bring him in, and found his lab here on Akoshissss by tracing his recent purchases, including the illegal trafficking of several beings and beasts off of Kashyyyk. He was getting his 'goods,'" she said the last word distastefully, "From a bounty hunter named Crovan Dane. I had originally planned to have the both of you apprehend him, while I dealt with Panith myself."

"But then you were ambushed," Jaylen said, "And we came here instead."

Master Eerin nodded. "And based on what you heard, Luat, we're already too late to stop Dane's final delivery. We have no other option but to capture Panith before he can get complete his project, those cyborgs he was speaking about in your vision."

The image of Panith vanished, replaced by a rendering of the surface of Akoshissss. "Here is his lab," Master Eerin stated, "In the middle of the valley that runs across the moon's surface. The chasm is wide enough that on its own a covert mission has no chance of making it in unspotted, so we'll have to cause a distraction of some sort before a team could go in."

As she spoke, markers began to appear on the holo, indicating where troops would be placed. "I will lead the Eighteenth Battalion in a direct assault on the compound. We expect resistance to be relatively moderate at best, and made up of mostly B1's with several Supers alongside some automated defenses." A majority of the white markers appeared inside the canyon, along with one bright blue one. "While this is going on," she continued, "A small strike team will infiltrate the lab from here," a pair of dots appeared on top of a nearby cliff. "And capture Panith himself. That team will be made up of one of you along with some of the Battalion's specialists."

"Wait," Jaylen spoke up, eyes fixed on the dots representing the strike team. "Just one of us?"

"The other one," his Master replied, "Will be undertaking a different but much more crucial mission." The image zoomed out, indicating a city a good distance away from the canyon the compound was located in. "One of you will be going on a diplomatic mission to the Trandoshan settlement on Akoshissss. We cannot afford to have them entering this conflict. If they do, then the entire planet will be throwing its weight behind the Separatists."

"Then which of us is going?" Luat asked, even though he had already come to a decision on that front.

"Decide that amongst yourselves," Master Eerin said. "Consider this a lesson in role assignment, putting each person to a task that they are more competent in."

Luat mulled the issue over mentally for a few minutes as Master Eerin turned to discuss the logistics of the distraction attack with the clone officers there. Eventually, he came to a decision, and turned to Jaylen to open his mouth, only for his friend to beat him to the punch.

"Looks like it's time for me to talk us out of trouble again, huh?" he said with a grin. "I'll go to the Trandoshans, keep them off your back while you guys nab that guy."

"Jaylen, are you sure?" Luat asked, concerned. After all of his talk of going out to make a difference, he'd half expected Jaylen to insist on joining the lab assault himself.

His confusion must have shown on his face, because Jaylen gave him a look. "Luat, you know that this mission's gonna stop the Trandoshans from openly entering the war, right?" He asked seriously. "That's kind of important, and I'm the better talker of the two of us and we both know it." Then his signature grin broke through. "Besides, I bet with my skills I'll be done with enough time left over to meet you to catch Panith," he boasted jokingly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Luat could see Master Eerin nodding approvingly. "Well said Jaylen. I'll be honest, I wasn't very certain about the Council you to be my Padawan. But after what you said just now," she continued, laying a hand on his shoulder proudly, "I know that they made the correct decision in promoting you."

As Jaylen beamed, Luat couldn't help but feel a little down himself. So not all the Masters were on board with the Padawans they were assigned? What did that mean for him, and Master Plo? What did he think about the system?

"Hey, Luat, wake up!" Jaylen said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Captain Herc's gonna take you to meet the rest of the battalion."

"Eh? Right, right." Luat turned to see the Captain, a clone with several rusty orange stripes painted on his armor, waiting expectantly. "Lead the way Captain."

"Right this way, Commander," Herc said, turning to make his way to where the rest of his men were waiting. Luat dutifully followed behind as Jaylen left for the hangar, trying to ignore the worries burning inside of him.

**-o-**

"This is our Commander?" one of the clones asked incredulously. Almost all of the Eighteenth Battalion had gathered in one of the main hangars to meet their new commander, and Luat didn't think too many of them were very impressed with what they saw. "Pardon me, sir, but why should we take orders from a youngling?"

Luat flinched. That one hurt a bit, especially since it was pretty much true. He'd been promoted to Padawan extremely recently, after all, and his only live combat experience so far involved nearly getting killed in a dogfight. He wouldn't trust his own life under that kind of commander, either, let alone the lives of his men.

"Sergeant Troy!" Captain Herc snapped. "You show our Padawan Commander proper respect, or I will be having you lead the charge without a blaster."

Troy immediately quieted down, though Luat was pretty sure he was still glaring mulishly under his helmet. He was also sure that the glare turned into one of surprise when he stepped forward, holding a hand out towards the clone captain. "It's alright Herc," Luat said. "I can understand why the Sergeant is nervous. I was only appointed Padawan recently, and I don't have your experience in leading men."

He turned to address all of the clones in front of him. "As it stands now, my first order will be to tell me if I make a mistake, and correct me if necessary," he announced, earning himself some surprised murmurs. "I can't afford to be making poor decisions, not if they will result in all of us dying. You all have the experience that I don't, and I'd be a poor leader if I didn't make use of that."

There was silence for a long moment, and then all of the clones present saluted as one. "Sir, yes sir!"

Luat returned the salute happily. "Now," he said, "Let's get to business. Master Eerin and the good Captain here have come up with a plan to get into Panith's little compound." His smile turned vicious, inspired by the confidence of the clones around him. "Let's give that sleemo the worst day of his miserable life."

* * *

**Chapter 2, done and dusted. Up next is the Battle of Akoshissss (damn Trandoshan planets and names wreaking havoc on my spell-check), where Luat, Bant, and the Eighteenth Battalion are going after the big scientist guy himself. And as for Jaylen, well, don't worry. He's not getting written out of the arc just like that.**

**But I think that's enough information on the future for now. Feel free to leave behind some feedback or constructive criticism, and I'll see you all next chapter. And as always, watch out for that friendly fire.**

**-Your Teammate**


	4. Chapter 3: Battle of Akoshissss, Part 1

**Chapter 3: Battle of Akoshissss, Part One**

Akoshissss was a hot, barren moon, best known for the large, serpentine canyon that ran across its surface and the labyrinthine cave systems that it branched off into. Inside the canyon, Bitt Panith's laboratory sat, apparently empty save for a few squads of battle droids patrolling around the perimeter. The only sounds that could be heard were the rhythmic impacts of metal feet, a testament to how few beings called that area of Trandosha's second moon home.

The silence of the compound was shattered when alarms began to sound in the base, and Republic gunships began to touch down nearby. Clone troopers spilled out by the hundreds, led by one Mon Calamari carrying a bright blue lightsaber. Several massive AT-TE walkers began their advance, accompanied by the smaller, two-legged AT-PTs. Already their cannons were firing, causing massive explosions and scrapping battle droids wherever the volatile bolts landed.

To their credit, the lab's guards responded quickly. Several columns of battle droids quickly formed, and the defensive turret emplacements were all turned to face the advancing Eighteenth Battalion. Within minutes, the entire front of the lab was a bristling nest of weaponry, and the droids started firing as soon as they entered maximum range. The clones reacted with the ease born of experience, darting between patches of cover as they got closer and closer to the enemy. Master Eerin led the advance, lightsaber forming an impregnable blue barrier that deflected any bolts that got too close.

Several klicks away, Luat lowered his macrobinoculars from his position on top of the canyon. "Looks like they took the bait," he said, "Exactly as Master Eerin said they would."

The clone next to him, a demolition specialist by the name of Lex, lowered his own pair of binoculars with a satisfied nod. "Almost all of their forces were diverted to respond to the General's attack," he said. "We won't have a better window."

Luat took a deep breath, steeling himself for the fight ahead. No turning back now. "Okay, let's get going," he said, cinching the line attached to his belt and beginning his descent down the canyon's wall. The other members of the strike team rappelled down after him, while R3 simply hovered down using his jets.

Along with Lex and his astromech, Luat had three other clones with him by the names of Striker, Gunshy, and Ket, all of whom were either slicers or close combat specialists. Thankfully, none of them had the same misgivings Sergeant Troy had regarding his competency, and in fact were eager to help their Commander "earn the paint on his armor" as they called it.

They landed outside the base without incident, and found a mere two B1 droids standing guard over a nearby entrance. Luat held his hand up for the clones to wait, then held his other hand out and focused. With a quick flick of his wrist he fired off two small Force Pushes, and both droid guards suddenly found their necks snapped clean in two by the pinpoint accurate waves of concussive energy. Their decapitated bodies collapsed to the floor, and the clones gave Luat an approving look as they walked up to the doorway.

"Nicely done Commander," Gunshy complimented as he began to slice into a nearby terminal. "I'll have this door open in a moment." He pulled out and connected a holopad from his belt, and began to type furiously as the rest of the team kept an eye out for any other droids in the area.

Fortunately, after a few tense minutes Gunshy made good on his word, opening the door to reveal an empty hallway. Striker entered first, with Luat right behind them. They moved cautiously, keeping an eye out for any patrolling droids, until they found a port for R3 to plug into. While the astromech hacked his way through the lab's firewalls, Luat and the clones were once more relegated to guard duty. At Lex's advice, Luat and the others hid behind nearby alcoves just to be safe, keeping their profiles minimal just in case. The hallway mercifully remained empty, with the terse silence broken only by the occasional explosion from outside.

Thankfully, Lex's earlier statement about all of the droids being pulled off to respond to the main force was correct, and R3 was able to break through the lab's firewalls without any incidents. "R3, can you locate Panith?" Lex asked, only for the droid to respond in negative. "Blast," he muttered. "Looks like we're going to be searching manually."

Luat flinched as a particularly loud impact shook the base. "We're gonna have to search fast, then," he said grimly. "If he gets away then all of this is for nothing. R3, try and find a hangar. If we can cut off his way out, then–"

R3 interrupted him with an urgent beep, before projecting what appeared to be a security feed from his holoprojector. A Muun who could only be Bitt Panith appeared, flanked by four of what Luat recognized as Magnaguards. The scientist was gesturing wildly at his guards, speaking wildly, only for them to separate. Panith ducked down a side corridor as the droids went straight, both of them running out of view of the holo.

"R3, where is this?" Lex asked urgently, and the droid responded by projecting a map of the lab, marking where the footage had been captured.

"Those Magnaguards look like they're heading for that hangar we were looking for," Striker commented. "But Panith… where's he off to?"

Luat frowned, thinking furiously. They could go after the Magnaguards and Panith's escape ship, or they could go after Panith himself, but they couldn't afford to split up. Even if most of the droid forces were defending against Master Eerin's attack, they were still only four troopers, a Padawan, and an astromech. They couldn't afford to wait either. Every second they delayed, the chance of Panith escaping increased. The Padawan grit his teeth in frustration, indecision gnawing at him.

"Commander?" Lex asked. "What are you orders?" Luat looked up to see him and the other clones looking at him expectantly.

"R3," he ordered, "Pull up the schematic you got for the place, will you?" The astromech dutifully projected the holo once more, marking where Panith and the Magnaguards had split up. Luat studied the image intently until a certain detail caught his attention and made the decision for him.

"We're going after Panith," he declared. "Here, look at this." He traced the path that Panith had been projected to take until he found the side corridor he was looking at. "This here, it leads to outside the compound, and it's along Panith's projected path. Even if we destroy his ship and capture the hangar, he could still slip out of the lab without us being the wiser. If he can make his way into the caves around here we're never gonna find him again."

"Then let's get moving," Ket said urgently. "We're not giving the bastard any more time to rest!"

**-o-**

The five of them (and R3) carved a path through the lab, rapidly gaining on where they expected Panith to be. Any droids that they ran into along the way were quickly dispatched with either a few quick shots from the clones' blasters or a quick slash from Luat's lightsaber.

"According to R3's map," Luat said, panting slightly from their run, "We should be able to cut Panith off in the room ahead of us."

The room in question was blocked off by a large set of locked doors, which Luat made short work of with his lightsaber. Several quick slices and a Force Push blew the door open in several pieces, and the group charged into the room only to stop short at the sight in front of them.

It was an actual laboratory room, with glassware and bits of machinery strewn about across various counters. In the far corner of the room was a large, flat table, upon which laid a body covered in a sheet of some sort. Next to it was a Muun who could only be Bitt Panith, cybernetics and all.

"A-ah, welcome," the Separatist said, giving them what appeared to be a serene glance despite the perspiration Luat could see on his brow. "I didn't expect you to be here." Why was he so calm? They had the Muun cornered and unarmed, with a lightsaber and several blasters pointed right at him. They held all the cards, so why did Luat feel so uneasy?

He shook his head internally. _Focus on the now_, he reminded himself. "Bitt Panith," he said in as intimidating a tone as he could manage, "By the order of the Galactic Republic you are under arrest."

"I think not," Panith replied smugly, as two hidden doors opened up from either side of his lab. Several super battle droids marched through, and Luat and his men suddenly found themselves standing on the wrong side of a firing squad. "Leave them intact," Panith ordered, before stepping back and typing something out on a holopad as the droids attacked.

At this point, most Jedi would have adopted a relatively defensive stance, trusting in their blaster bolt deflection skills and connection to the Force to take out a few of the droids while the clones behind them took advantage of the cover they'd provide. Luat, though, wasn't most Jedi. While he could deflect a blaster bolt just fine, he wasn't like Ahsoka or even Jaylen where he could do so almost unconsciously. Against the amount of droids facing him, a defensive stance would only result in his death. As a result, he was forced to take a more aggressive approach.

"Get to cover!" Luat yelled as he darted forward, drawing the droids' attention while Lex and the others behind him dove to the sides behind several lab tables. He fell backwards as the droids fired, sliding under the blaster bolts and into their midst. His lightsaber flashed, severing the legs of the droids to his right as he skidded past them, and he placed his free palm on the floor to fire off a Force Push to propel him back upright. Almost instantly he spun in a quick circle, slicing through the surrounding droids in a blur of emerald.

The remaining droids began to fire at him, only for Luat to leap upwards to dodge. He landed on the head of one of them, stabbing it through the head, before jumping off and leaving it to collapse to the ground. Luat had barely landed on the ground before he had to dodge to the side, with the hail of blasterfire sailing past to shatter several empty vials behind him.

as several others were cut down by blasterfire from his men.

"Commander!" Luat heard Lex yell from the back of the room. "Get clear! Droid poppers incoming!"

Heeding the sergeant's words, Luat hopped off of the droid and dashed as far away as possible from the surviving supers, deflecting what blasterfire he could and diving behind a nearby table to dodge what he couldn't. From where he was crouching behind cover, he saw Lex rear back his hand and toss out a pair of EMP grenades. The spheres landed right in the middle of the droids' formation, and when they went off a moment later the resulting pulse hit all of them. The supers all collapsed, circuits fried, leaving Panith standing alone with his datapad.

"No!" The Muun gasped desperately, his previous composure failing him.

Luat stood back up from behind his piece of cover, smiling triumphantly. "So, now will you come quietly?" he asked. The droids had clearly been Panith's last resort bodyguards, especially with his Magnaguards off in another part of the base. The cyberneticist was defenseless, and clearly in no position to resist. But even so, he couldn't ignore the pit of worry gnawing at his stomach. Panith had to have known that wouldn't be enough even to take care of several clones. What was he playing at?

Panith, unfortunately, decided to inadvertently answer Luat's internal question. "You think that was my last resort?" he claimed triumphantly, losing all of the fear he seemed to have earlier. "You leave me no choice, then!" His fingers scrambled for a switch on the wall, pulling it down before anyone could react. Almost immediately after, the scientist dove to the side, barely dodging stun bolts from the clones as a loud series of clanks rang out from the covered table.

Luat couldn't move, transfixed by the horror show in progress before their eyes as the being on the table tore free with a tortured shriek of metal. The cloth covering it fell away, and Luat flinched backwards, bile in his throat.

It was a monstrosity, a patchwork made up of the body parts of various creatures. The small part of Luat's brain that wasn't focused on keeping his gag reflex under control recognized the arms of a gundark and legs of a Gamorrean, but the rest was a riot of flesh and color stitched together without rhyme or reason. A large amount of the monster's head and body was thankfully covered in dull silver armor, but the helmet's eye slits glowed with a malicious red fire.

As he tried to calm himself down, Luat noticed something. Or rather, a lack of something. He couldn't feel anyone's presence anymore. Not Master Eerin, not Panith, not even the clones right next to him! He tried to center himself, to reach out like Master Kcaj taught him, only to stop with a gasp as he felt nothing but emptiness around him.

Panith laughed from where he was sitting on the floor. "Ah, good, you feel it don't you, Jedi?" he gloated. "My Project Krossen has the blood of a terentatek in his veins! You Force wielders are helpless against him! In fact," the Muun smiled victoriously, "I am thankful that a live Jedi is among us! You will be the perfect final test for my creation!"

This time, the ice that ran down Luat's spine had nothing to do with the Force-nullifying cyborg in front of him. Those words, they were the words from his vision! Luat grit his teeth desperately, steeling himself for the cyborg's assault. _Master Eerin wasn't the one in trouble in my visions_, he realized with chilling certainty. _I was._

Krossen lurched forward, eyes fixed on Luat's. One of its misshapen arms snapped off to the side, hand grasping at a nearby vibrosword. As the cyborg studied its newly acquired weapon at his face, Luat finally regained his wits. "Blast it!" He yelled hoarsely, shifting his lightsaber into a guard stance.

The clones quickly obliged, and soon several deadly blue blaster bolts were in the air. Much to everyone's shock, the bolts barely even staggered the monster, most of them leaving nothing but scorch marks on its armor. The cyborg was barely slowed down, charging forward to swing its vibrosword at the nearby Ket. Luat ran forward to intercept, just barely getting his lightsaber around in time to block the blade. The impact nearly blew Luat clean off his feet, and as he staggered backwards Krossen lashed out with its free hand. The blow barely clipped his shoulder, but Luat was still sent spinning from the force behind it. He caught himself from falling at the last moment, rolling into a standing position to dodge a follow-up chop from the vibroblade which tore a deep gash in the floor. Before it could follow up, Krossen recoiled as several more blaster bolts slammed into it. From the way it was shielding its face, the clones must have discovered a weak spot of some kind in its helmet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Luat could see Panith scrambling to his feet and slipping through a small door to the side and cursed. "Dammit! Lex, you and the men go after Panith! I'll hold this cyborg here for as long as I can!" Even without his connection to the Force, Luat was by no means helpless. He could probably delay Krossen in this lab long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Or at least, that was what he hoped.

Lex, though, had other ideas. "Belay that order, Commander! Go get Panith! The boys and I'll keep this thing busy!"

"Are you crazy?" Luat yelled at him, not taking his eyes off of the lumbering cyborg. "You won't stand a chance against it!"

"And you'll have a better chance of catching up with Panith!" the Sergeant yelled back, even as Striker and Ket dropped their blasters to pull out vibroknives of their own. "The mission comes first, sir! Get moving!"

Luat grit his teeth helplessly as Striker and Ket charged the doctor's creation while Gunshy and Lex kept it pinned down with their blasters. "Damn it!" he swore as he deactivated his lightsaber. "You all better survive this, or I'm bringing you back just to kill you myself!" With that, he dashed past them and after Panith, leaving the sounds of blasterfire and desperate yelling to fade away behind him.

* * *

**And that seems like a good place to stop for now. The Battle of Akoshissss has begun, and Panith's secret weapon has been revealed! **

**Regarding Krossen's "Force nullification field," Panith mentions that this is because its blood is originally from a terentatek. In Legends, Terentateks are a species native to Korriban, the ancient Sith homeworld. They are theorized to have been created and/or corrupted by the Sith to specifically hunt down Force users, and as a result have evolved to be pretty much immune to the Force. **

**Originally, I wanted to have a Luat vs Krossen match in this chapter, but then the clones wrote themselves into the story and refused to let that happen. So instead, this is what you're getting. Next chapter will have the conclusion of the Battle, and you'll find out who survives the fight against Panith's magnum opus. **

**But until then, feel free to leave behind a review if it so pleases you. I'll see you all next chapter. And as always, watch out for that friendly fire.**

**-Your Teammate**


	5. Chapter 4: Battle of Akoshissss, Part 2

Chapter 4: Battle of Akoshissss, Part Two

Luat's pace didn't slow as he ran down the hallway after Panith. Behind him, the sounds of his men desperately holding off Krossen faded away, hopefully because of distance rather than the battle being over. The clones might have outnumbered the cybernetic monstrosity, but numbers meant nothing in the face of overwhelming force. He had to catch the Separatist scientist quickly, so that he could help them deal with his creation.

Fortunately, the Force-numbing effects of Krossen's terentatek blood faded after he left the room. Thanks to his newly-regained sensing abilities and Force-assisted speed, Luat was able to catch up to Panith pretty quickly. The Muun was hunched over a control panel, frantically typing into it, when Luat found him. A quick Force Pull yanked Panith away from the panel and onto the ground, and Luat leaped over him to stand between him and his escape.

"You're not going anywhere, Doctor," he said, levelling his lightsaber at Panith's partially cybernetic face.

Panith growled helplessly, but then his eyes widened as he glanced past Luat. The Force blared out a warning, and Luat whirled around just in time to block an electrostaff from smashing into his head. The emotionless red eyes of one of Panith's Magnaguards glared into him, and behind it he saw another making its way in from a previously hidden side door.

Luat backpedaled quickly as the closer droid advanced, saber whirling furiously as he blocked and deflected its attacks. The second Magnaguard stayed behind it, taking advantage of the length of its electrostaff to stab past its fellow wherever it could.

Gritting his teeth, Luat leapt backwards from one particularly strong swipe, flipping a few meters away to gain some breathing room. Behind the Magnaguards he saw Panith start to stand up. Blast it, he thought, Gotta take care of this quickly.

Taking a moment, he centered himself in the Force as much as he could, letting its energy flow through him. In an instant, he knew exactly what he needed to do. As the Magnaguards strode towards him, he dashed to meet them. Jumping to the side to dodge a downward swing, Luat kicked off of the wall to land in a crouch on top of the first droid's shoulders, slicing off one of its arms upon landing. The droid recoiled, flailing about with its remaining arm, and Luat just barely kept his balance while deflecting the wild swings from the electrostaff.

The second Magnaguard, though, was still perfectly fine, and made to strike Luat off of its companion's head. Just before it could connect with a stab from its own electrostaff, the young Jedi bent his knees and leapt. He flew in a somersault over his attacker, while the force from his jump shoved his original platform face-first into the floor. Landing in a crouch behind the droid, Luat whirled around, slicing through its torso in a blur of emerald and a shower of sparks. The Magnaguard collapsed to the ground in two pieces, eyes dimming. Its central processor was completely destroyed by his attack.

Meanwhile, the first Magnaguard had just started pushing itself back to its feet. Luat dashed towards it, jumping upwards to land feet-first on the droid's head. The impact crushed it against the floor, and its limbs flailed as Luat raised his lightsaber and impaled the helpless droid through its chest. He ripped the blade out sideways, carving a deep gash into the Magnaguards torso as its limbs stopped twitching and it finally went still.

With a deep exhale, Luat turned and looked over to see Panith gazing at him in shock. The Muun regained his senses before Luat could make a move, turning and fleeing down the corridor as fast as he could. Luat made to chase, but stopped when he felt something register at the edge of his Force senses. Panith's exit route was cut off when the severed head of another Magnaguard came flying out through the open doorway and impacted the opposite wall. The rest of the droid flew out shortly after, scattering across the floor in several pieces.

Panith had by this point stopped, caught off-guard by the destruction of one of his two remaining droid bodyguards. His shock turned to horror when the last Magnaguard staggered out from around the corner with a bright blue lightsaber sticking out of its chest. The droid collapsed, and the lightsaber was telekinetically yanked out of its body to land in the outstretched palm of Jaylen, who stepped out from the doorway with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Would you look at that," he commented casually, "Looks like I did make it back in time!"

And just like that, Panith found himself stuck between two Jedi with lightsabers drawn, his personal droid bodyguards in pieces around him. He opened his mouth to say something, Luat had no idea what, when a stun bolt shot past and hit him right in the face. The Muun collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and Luat whirled around to see Lex, with his armor dented and scorched, standing there with his blaster raised.

"And that's the end of that, you Seppie scum," he proclaimed, walking past the surprised Padawan to sling Panith's body over his shoulder.

Luat stared at him for a moment before deactivating his lightsaber. "Lex, not that it isn't good to see you," he began with a frown, "But what happened in the lab? Is everyone alright?"

Lex heaved the cyberneticist's unconscious form up with a grunt before responding. "Panith's little project was disabled," he said solemnly, "But not all of us got out unscathed."

-o-

The room was a mess. Bits of plasteel and glass were strewn about, and the tables and chairs were all lying on the floor in several pieces. Striker was propped against the wall with his helmet off, nursing a couple of broken limbs, while Gunshy was tending to Ket, who was unconscious with a large gash running across his torso. Krossen itself was lying facedown on the floor, apparently unmarked aside from some scuffs and scorch marks in its armor.

Striker, of course, was the first one to notice Luat, Jaylen, and Lex's return. "Good to see you in one piece Commander," he said happily, and Gunshy absently voiced his agreement.

Luat didn't smile back. "Where's R3?" he asked worriedly. Usually the astromech would be rolling up to him by now, beeping all sorts of questions and generally acting like a concerned nanny droid. Striker's grimace only made the sinking pit in his stomach worse, and when he gestured to a cloth-covered bundle to his side his fears were realized.

R3-G0, the astromech that Luat, Jaylen, and Ahsoka had spent years building, was in ruins. A good chunk of his chassis was missing, exposing much of his internal circuitry. One of his legs was ripped off, and the remaining one was barely hanging on by a few wires.

"He hit that cyborg with a tow cable when it got Ket," Lex explained quietly. "Held it back while I hit it with a modified droid popper." The sergeant held up one of the aforementioned droid poppers, one of the army's standard issue EMP grenades, to make his point, before placing his free hand on Luat's shoulder. "He saved Ket's life, and probably all of ours too."

Luat didn't say anything, gaze fixed on the remains of his best non-organic friend and partner. He'd found the scraps of a destroyed R3 unit during one of his, Ahsoka's and Jaylen's excursions outside the Temple, and almost instantly he'd been committed to fixing it up as his own. It had taken months upon months of scavenging and scrounging, as well as some shady purchases, but eventually they had come up with the parts to build their own astromech. The R3 unit had been with Luat ever since, offering his own unique brand of support and aid when he'd needed it the most. The plucky, irreverent, worrywart of an astromech was more than a droid. He was a friend and a partner.

A hand on his shoulder made him look over to see Jaylen giving him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't worry too much Luat," he said quietly. "The damage isn't irreparable. We'll bring R3 back with us, and we can fix him up together. Okay?" With that said, he walked over to Gunshy to help patch Ket up.

"Sir," Lex said, "You should comm the General. Let her know we're done here."

"Ah," Luat started, returning to the present, "Right." He quickly activated his wrist comm and contacted Master Eerin. "This is Commander Ceema from the strike team. We've got Doctor Panith, and we're ready for pickup. Bring a medivac." And if any of them noticed that his voice shook just a little while he spoke, no one said anything.

-o-

When Master Eerin arrived, Luat was surprised to find out that they weren't actually being extracted yet. Instead, they were going to comb through Panith's facility to obtain as much intel as possible before destroying what they couldn't bring. Striker, Ket, and R3, however, would be returning to the ship, with Master Eerin reassuring Luat that his droid would be kept as intact as possible.

"It must be said, though," she continued as he and Jaylen followed her through one of the facility's many hallways alongside Herc and Lex, "I am very impressed at how you handled the situation. Very few Jedi would have even survived against a situation like yours, let alone found victory."

The remains of what had been Project Krossen had long since been loaded onto a secure gunship for transport, far from the Jedi who were still affected by the terentatek blood in its veins. Master Eerin hadn't been in its presence for even a minute before she had to leave, and Jaylen had been left feeling slightly nauseous at the sensation of being cut off from the Force. For once, Luat couldn't help but be thankful for his own struggles with Force sensitivity, because he was still able to move and fight while in its presence.

"I'm just glad that Lex and the others were able to shut it down," Jaylen commented, shuddering slightly. "Imagine an army of those things under the Separatist's control."

Luat winced at that thought, and Herc took a moment to clap him on the shoulder. "Chin up Commander," he said happily. "Thanks to you, Lex, and the rest of the team that's never going to happen."

"I didn't even do anything to Krossen though," Luat protested. "That was all Lex, Striker, Ket, Gunshy and R3. All I did was catch Panith, and even then that was with Jaylen's help."

"And if you two hadn't captured him," Master Eerin replied without turning around, "Then he could have escaped to make even more of those monstrosities." She dropped back a bit to lay a supporting hand on Luat's shoulder. "Don't sell your own role in things short, young one," she said quietly. "Everyone has a part to play in the success of a mission, and no one part is any less crucial than the other."

Luat mulled this over as she pulled ahead. I guess she does have a point, he thought to himself. Panith isn't going to be making any more of those cyborgs in a Republic cell, and thanks to Jaylen we're not going to have to worry about Trandosha joining the Separatists for a while.

"Let's keep moving everyone." Master Eerin's voice snapped him out of his musings. "Once we finish the sweep of Panith's facilities, we'll be going home to Coruscant."

"Yes sir!"

"Yes, Master!"

-o-

Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Back when he, Ahsoka, and Jaylen were younglings, they had sometimes joked that the Temple was one of the most boring places in the galaxy, especially after a particularly trying lecture or meditation session. But now, after the tension and chaos of Akoshissss, the compound's large, quiet halls offered no small comfort.

"Haaaah," Luat sighed as he walked out of the Council chambers. The debrief had not been a short one, not with the discovery of a new kind of Jedi-killing project. Thankfully, the one that they had destroyed in Bitt Panith's lab was the prototype, and the Muun had sung like a Cairoka Bird when they had interrogated him. Apparently, Count Dooku had gotten fed up with a lack of progress from his research, and had been threatening to terminate it before they had shown up. At least there wouldn't be any more Force-immune cyborgs running around the galaxy. General Grievous was already bad enough.

Jaylen wasn't in much of a better state walking next to him. Master Eerin had given him the rest of the day off, to decompress she had said. From the way that she herself had trudged her way to the healers, the rest was as much for her benefit as it was theirs, and he couldn't really blame her. Panith's lab wasn't an absolute horror show of entrails and spare body parts, no, but the scientist had still been working with cyborgs patched together from parts of living creatures. The things that were on display in that abomination the Muun called a lab were more than sufficient as nightmare fuel.

Luat himself had been given a couple of days of downtime, but after that he would be leaving himself. Apparently, Master Koon had finished up with his own mission, and would be taking a patrol route near the Abregado system for the next few weeks. Luat would finally get a chance to meet his new Master, and figure out what to do from there.

Until then, though, R3's parts had been delivered to his quarters, and Luat planned to make the most of the opportunity.

A reinforced chassis will have to be first priority, he thought as he and Jaylen absently meandered through the halls. Then maybe some other attachments for R3's manipulator arms. The spark prod is nice and all, and that tow cable apparently saved Ket's life, but they just don't cut it when it comes to actual combat. Maybe…

His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar, friendly presence entered his sensing range. "Hey," a familiar voice rang out, and when Luat turned around he saw none other than Ahsoka, with her hands on her hips and a confident smirk on her face. "Miss me?" she asked.

Luat smiled back at her. "Doesn't really matter now, since you're back," he answered easily. He suddenly felt a lot lighter, as if a weight he hadn't even noticed before was lifted from his shoulders. "Glad you made it through your first mission in one piece."

"I should be saying that to you, Luat," Ahsoka replied with a grin. "I half expected you to be in a cast of some sort, considering your track record."

"Hey!" Luat shot back. "At least half of those incidents were me covering some sort of screwup on your end! Without you there, our mission went as smoothly as it could have! Right Jaylen?"

No response. Jaylen had yet to speak up, instead looking between his friends as if searching for something. "Hey, Jaylen! Wake up, will you?" Luat snapped his fingers in front of his friend's face, only getting an annoyed look in response.

Jaylen nodded to himself, as if confirming some great fact of life, before finally deciding to say something. "I actually should be going," he said. "I told Master Eerin that I'd meet up with her in a bit, get started on that "getting to know you" thing she was talking about earlier. You two go ahead, I'll catch up with you later." He then proceeded to walk away from his friends as quickly as possible without waiting for a response from either of them.

"Wait, but Master Eerin said that she'd meet up with you tomorrow!" Luat called after him. He didn't get any response before Jaylen rounded a corner and vanished form sight, and a glance at Ahsoka showed that she was just as confused as he was. "Tch," he shook his head, bewildered. "Honestly, and he calls me absent-minded."

The two of them looked at each other awkwardly for a minute before Luat decided to change the subject.

"So, uh…" he fidgeted about for a bit before clasping his hands in front of him. "How does it feel, being the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker himself?" he asked.

Ahsoka's face scrunched up in thought for a moment. "It's… interesting, I'll say that much," she said wryly.

"Well you can tell me all about it while I work," Luat replied happily as he started walking to his quarters. "Because I've got a story of my own to tell, and R3 got put through the ringer during my mission. It's repairable," he added quickly to forestall the concern he could sense from his friend, "But it's something I really want to get done sooner rather than later. He saved several lives, after all."

"Well now I have to hear that story," Ahsoka commented, easily catching up and falling into step with him. "Plus, I'm not gonna let you work on R3 all on your own. I put as much sweat and tears into that droid as you did, and like hell I'm letting you mess that up."

Even with his first mission completed, the Clone Wars were far from over. The Separatists were still at large, and people, innocent, clone, and Jedi alike, were dying. Luat still had no idea where he stood with his new Master. But even with the chaos and uncertainty that he knew lay in his future, as he and Ahsoka walked up to his quarters together Luat couldn't shake his feelings of contentment. He just knew that, for the moment, everything was as it should be.

* * *

Surprise, I'm still here. Sorry about the delay in uploading this, but I got sidetracked by moving out of my apartment and settling in at home for a bit. But yeah, here's the conclusion to the Battle of Akoshissss. It didn't last as long as I had originally planned, but that's just how the scenario wrote itself out. Panith is just a scientist, not a Sith. It wasn't going to be a drawn-out fight by any means.

Unfortunately, the upload rate will probably not be returning to its original speed. Chapter 5 is already in the works, but I'm going to be studying for the GREs for a while so I won't have nearly as much writing time as I'd like. But I will be continuing this story, for as long as I am able.

So yeah, that's about all I wanted to say. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, feel free to send me a PM or a review so that we can have a dialogue about it. Otherwise, though, I'll see you all next chapter. And as always, watch out for that friendly fire.

-Your Teammate


	6. Chapter 5: Padawan Learning

**Chapter 5: Padawan Learning**

**Belgaroth System**

The _Triumphant_, a Venator-Class Star Destroyer and the flagship of the 104th Battalion, was far more imposing in person compared to the ones Luat had seen as Holos. A massive, triangular cruiser with a protruding wing-like section one each side as well as a pair of command bridges sticking out the top, the ship was a masterpiece of naval engineering. And on it was Master Plo Koon, his Jedi Master.

Luat couldn't help but frown to himself as he approached the ship. Spending time back on the temple with Ahsoka and Jaylen was a very nice way of distracting himself, but once they were called out on their own patrols he was left on his own with only the newly repaired R3 for company. And, looking at the three Venators arrayed majestically before him, he couldn't help but feel those doubts beginning to resurface. Almost unconsciously, he reached behind his head and fiddled absently with his new Padawan braid. The thin, pleated strand was almost hidden behind the rest of his long, dark hair, but it was still a new addition, and the discomfort that it sometimes caused was a pretty accurate representation of how Luat felt.

R3 beeped worriedly from where he was nestled in his fighter's socket, startling Luat out of his thoughts. "I'm alright R3," he said, carefully guiding his fighter into the large chasm in the middle of the ship that served as its hangar.

As he gently set his fighter down, he made out several technicians and other support droids running about, as well as the familiar form of a tall, masked Kel Dor in Jedi robes. Master Plo had come to meet him, it seemed.

The Jedi Master wasted no time in walking over, reaching speaking distance just as Luat climbed out of his fighter's cockpit. "Hello again Luat," he said, his voice muffled by the breathing mask he always wore. Luat couldn't help but start a little in surprise. He'd met the Jedi Master a couple of years ago, sure, but he thought that the Master had all but forgotten him since then.

And then Luat realized Master Plo was still waiting for a response. "Er, yes, hello Master Plo," he said hurriedly, trying to suppress the flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. "I, uh, I'm here and ready to get started."

The Jedi Master's gaze softened, and Luat couldn't help but relax a little as he felt waves of calmness in the Force. Plo must have started projecting, he realized with a bit of awe and no small amount of thankfulness, to help dispel some of his tension.

Plo then turned on his heel and motioned for Luat to follow him as he began walking away. "Come, Padawan," he said. "There is much that we must do before your training begins, and little time for us to see it done." Luat could do nothing other than follow his Master's lead as they left the hangar with R3 trailing behind him.

**-o-**

Their first destination was the bridge, where several non-uniformed clones were running various maintenance tasks on their consoles. One of them in particular was standing over a holotable, observing the fleet's movements and occasionally issuing orders.

This clone was the first to react to their presence, turning to meet them with a salute. "General," he said formally. "All systems are reporting in with no issues." At Plo's nod, he lowered his hand and gave Luat a curious look. "This is our new commander, then?"

"Correct," Plo said. "This is Luat Ceema, my new Padawan learner. Luat, this is Commander Wollfe, leader of Wolfpack Squad. You will not find a better tactician in the battalion."

If Wolffe had any thoughts regarding Plo's praise, he didn't show it as he extended his hand towards Luat. "Commander," he said, face impassive, "A pleasure to meet you."

Luat quickly reached out to shake the offered hand. "The pleasure's all mine, Commander," he said evenly, though he cursed himself internally when his voice quavered a little. It may have been intentional, it may not have been, but Wolffe came off as a very no-nonsense, imposing figure. _Though on balance, it probably is intentional,_ he thought to himself absently. "I look forward to working with and learning from you."

Wolffe stepped back, giving him a short nod before saluting Plo. "General, if you'll excuse me," he said, and at Plo's nod he turned back to the holotable.

"You will be returning here later." Luat looked over to see Plo gazing at him expectantly. "You will be learning from Commander Wolffe and the other clones as much as you will be from me," he said, and Luat looked at him in confusion. Plo must have noticed it, because he put a hand on Luat's shoulder as they exited the bridge. "Consider this your first lesson," his Master said lightly, emanating comforting waves that made him relax despite himself. "Everyone has something to teach you. The men will show you the capabilities and specialties of those under our command, and Wolffe will be teaching you his personal approach to combat so that you can make the best use of this knowledge."

That didn't sound too bad, Luat thought, especially if Wolffe was as good of a commander as his Master said he was. It did sting a little that Master Plo would be more or less outsourcing part of his training, but at the same time he understood a bit of why. Plo was not just a General in the Grand Army, like Master Eerin or Master Kcaj, but he was on the Jedi High Council. He probably had much more important things to worry about, but at least he wasn't going to leave Luat on his own or something in the meantime.

"But that is something to concern ourselves with at a later date," his Master said, interrupting Luat's musings. "There is more to be done first."

**-o-**

**Belgaroth System**

**Several days later**

Luat yelped in pain as the blaster bolt weaved through his defenses, striking him straight in the chest and sending him staggering backwards from the impact. His feet tangled and he tripped, his usual grace absent as he landed hard on his rear. He groaned in pain as cheers and laughter rang out from around him.

Plo Koon was no easy taskmaster, that was for sure. After their tour of the _Triumphant_, the two of them had spent the next hour reviewing the Padawan's strengths and weaknesses, and developing a lesson plan from them.

Piloting was, surprisingly enough, put on the backburner for now. Their forces had enough clones trained as pilots to make up the difference, and Plo himself was worth five of Luat when at the controls of a starfighter. There would be plenty of time, he insisted, for Luat to practice and improve his skills in that area.

Instead, his Master had focused on training Luat in blaster deflection. This made sense at least, since Luat knew he could only pull it off when focusing all his attention on it, and Plo made a very valid point in that he would have to be giving out orders in the midst of battle. Unless he wanted to be dropping out the fight every time he needed to comm someone, Plo had said, he would only be a liability on a battlefield.

Unfortunately, his Master's idea of remedying the issue followed along the lines of "Do it enough, you'll get used to it." And so, Luat would find himself standing across from his Master, batting a training remote's blaster bolt back and forth between them. All the while, the Kel Dor would quiz him on tactics, strategy, logistics, or whatever reading material had been set aside for him to study beforehand. And if he took too long to answer, Plo would increase the pace of the blaster bolt until either he did or he slipped up.

Their training sessions had quickly gained several spectators in the form of the clones, and Plo had just as quickly started quizzing Luat for information on individual clones, including their nicknames, specialties, and favorite pastimes. "The first step to being an effective commander," he'd said, "Is to know the men you are leading. If you are not able to correctly utilize the capabilities of your troops to their fullest extent, you will rarely find victory in battle."

_At least the men are enjoying it,_ Luat groused to himself as his Master came towards him to offer a hand up. Taking it, the Padawan was easily lifted to his feet, and he quickly dusted himself off. R3 rolled up next to him, holding out a towel and beeping merrily at his maker's plight.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you little rustbucket," Luat grinned. Even though he was getting knocked on his ass more times than not, he could tell that he was slowly but steadily improving.

"C'mon Commander!" one of the spectating clones, Boost according to his hairstyle, called out to him. "I thought you could last longer than that!"

"Sorry Boost," Luat shouted back jokingly, "I didn't feel like letting you make a profit today!" It had become more or less common knowledge that the watching clones were taking bets on his performance, something that both Jedi officially discouraged but in practice allowed as long as it didn't affect their duties.

Plo coughed from where he was standing, and Luat jumped, flushing slightly upon realizing he had forgotten about his Master.

"You have been doing well, Luat," he said. "However, you must be able to release yourself to the Force. It may be difficult, but when you are able to allow the Force to guide your movements unconsciously, that is when you will be at your best."

"Though," he added dryly, "It seems that your situational awareness still requires development."

Luat could only nod uncomfortably as Plo turned around. "I must meet with the Council," he said as he left. "Please continue with your lessons under Commander Wolffe in the meantime."

"Yes Master," Luat replied on reflex, even though his Master was long gone. The watching clones, knowing that their entertainment for the day was over, began to disperse as well. The Padawan sighed to himself as he started to make his way to the bridge, where Wolffe was undoubtedly waiting. He knew that Plo was a High Council member, and in fact one of the senior members that served for life. He undoubtedly had a massive amount of work on his shoulders just keeping the Order running, let alone working as a general in the war. But even so…

_It doesn't matter,_ Luat thought to himself. _Master Plo's just busy. We'll have more time later._ He made a point of ignoring how those words seemed to ring hollow in his mind.

**-o-**

"... And then I'd order our cruiser groups to split up and try to abuse alternate angles as much as possible, forcing the Separatist ships to split their fire," Luat finished. As he spoke, the holographic array of Republic and Separatist ships in front of him shifted to display the formation he had described.

Across from him, Commander Wolffe frowned thoughtfully. "Not bad," he said with a nod. "Though you have to take into account that our forces are supposed to be defending the planet." He typed several commands into the console, and suddenly the entire Separatist fleet was speeding towards the planet, shrugging off the fire from the Republic ships. "Unless we have a strong defensive front, many Seppie leaders will just have their fleet charge in so that they can make it to the planet, leaving us cut off. Remember, they're a droid fleet. They can take losses more easily than we can."

Luat studied the projected ships intensely. This was what a large part of his studies with Wolffe boiled down to. The clone Commander would construct a battle of some sort, and it was Luat's job to take command of the Republic forces as best he could. Wolffe would then provide advice and critiques for his strategies.

"Then… What if we put the majority of the ships into the standard line formation," he began, "But left a couple of lighter ships to go on flank angles?" The fleets reset themselves accordingly, with several frigates and light cruisers sitting outside the main Republic line. "This way our frontline doesn't suffer too much from the loss in firepower, but the light ships will be able to sow a little chaos and do more damage than they would have in the main line."

Wolffe's reply, however, was interrupted by the beeping of the comm. "Luat," Plo's voice came through, "I am afraid that we must cut your session with Commander Wolffe short. Both of you me at the bridge."

**-o-**

Master Plo was already in the middle of a holocall by the time Luat and Wolffe made it to the bridge. From where he was, Luat could make out the holographic forms of Masters Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with several clone strategists. A nudge from Wolffe had him quickly walk forward, and as he got closer he could make out some of the conversation.

"The Separatists simply have more vessels than we do," Master Kenobi said in the calm, measured demeanor that was the cornerstone of his reputation as the Negotiator. "Our forces find ourselves outnumbered because the enemy has more ships that they can afford to lose."

An unfamiliar voice was the next one to speak up. "That's why we're planning on attacking the Separatist shipyards, right? If we can destroy or take over even one of their major facilities, it would be a massive shift in our advantage."

"These worlds would be heavily defended." Saesee Tiin grimaced. "A straightforward assault would only result in heavy casualties with a low chance of success."

"Which means that we will not be taking a straightforward path, correct?" Master Plo asked, nodding to Luat and Wolffe as they walked up to the holotable. Stepping around the table to stand at his Master's side, Luat could finally make out who the remaining members of the holocall were. Standing next to Master Kenobi was the distinctive form of Anakin Skywalker, and next to him was Ahsoka, of all people. She gave him a quick smile as he came into view, before turning to focus on what Master Windu was saying.

"According to our intelligence reports, the most lightly defended of the shipyards is the planet Gwori." An image of the planet in question flickered into existence, along with some bits of supplementary information on its climate and atmospheric conditions. "The blockade here only consists of several Munificent frigates, so a smaller force would be able to keep them at bay long enough for a bombing run on the shipyards. Unfortunately, Republic Intelligence was unable to find the shipyards' exact locations, so a team will have to sneak on-planet in order to transmit us the coordinates."

Sneak onto a hostile shipyard and transmit the coordinates back for a bombing run without dying? No wonder Skywalker was here; he'd literally build his reputation from pulling off impossible missions like this one.

"Further complicating the matter," Master Windu continued, "Is a recent technological development by the Separatists. The droids have begun employing a new kind of radiation-producing scanner in order to detect and eradicate any living creatures on board incoming vessels before they're allowed to make landfall. If we want to get inside, we have to figure out a way to beat them."

"Do we know what type of radiation the scanners use?" Wolffe asked. "We may be able to develop some form of shielding for it."

Master Windu shook his head. "We were lucky to figure out that the scanners even existed in the first place," he said. "Without obtaining one of them, we won't know what kind of radiation they use. Not to mention we don't have the equipment on hand to attempt to block all of the possible frequencies they could use."

Skywalker had been deep in thought through all of this, before his head came up. "What if we were able to bypass the scanners entirely?" he proposed before inputting commands into a console out of everyone else's view. The image of Gwori was replaced by that of an odd block with a figure frozen into it. "If we can put ourselves into carbonite hibernation before entering the system, our vital signs will all be essentially gone. This way, it doesn't matter what the scanners use, because it wouldn't detect or affect carbonite. Just have one of our droids pilot the ship down and unfreeze us when we get there."

There was silence for a moment as the Masters all contemplated Skywalker's plan. Luat spent that moment staring at the Jedi Knight with something bordering incredulity. Freezing themselves in carbonite would leave the strike team completely dependent on the droid controlling the ship, and they'd be helpless if anything went wrong. It was risky, insane on so many levels… and Force help him it had a pretty decent chance of working.

"It could work." Master Kenobi nodded, before adding wryly, "It's something the droids wouldn't anticipate, at least."

"Hm." Master Windu appeared to have made up his mind. "Very well then. Skywalker, Kenobi, you two will lead the infiltration group, while Master Koon and Master Tiin will take charge of the strike force."

As the Masters further debated the minutiae of the plan, Luat took a moment to look over at Ahsoka. She was paying close attention to the proceedings, clearly excited for her part in the stealth mission. Not that he felt any different, even if he was only going to be part of the bombing run. With a quick shake of his head, Luat returned his focus to the call. This would be his first mission alongside his Master. It wouldn't do to disappoint.

* * *

**And to everyone's surprise, the new chapter is here. As for why it took so long, well, college sucks, graduate school applications are annoying, and video games exist. **

**This one's a bit of a slow chapter, too, so it was very annoying to write out. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter done before the year ends since things are starting to pick up, but don't hold your breath on that one.**

**But yeah, next chapter is Gwori! Shipyard schemes, sneaky soldiers, and some other things I can't think out good alliteration for. Not really sure if I'll be showing a lot of what happens with the stealth team (I want this to be primarily Luat's story, after all), but we'll see how that ends up. Either way, stuff'll be happening next chapter. **

**As always, feel free to drop a review or a PM if you've got any feedback. Otherwise, though, I'll see you all next chapter. And as always, watch out for that friendly fire.**

**-Your Teammate**


End file.
